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Charles placed an arm around my waist and pulled me to his side.“What are we going to do?”

“Let’s start by bringing them inside and getting them cleaned up,” I decided aloud. At this point, I was feeling quite thankful that Nan was out and about. If she’d been here to discover the kittens with us, I had no doubt in my mind that all five would become permanent residents of our home—and that Octo-Cat would make me suffer for it.

Charles helped me wrestle the babies back into the box, then picked it up and carried them toward the biggest of our bathrooms, the one with the claw-footed tub.

Both Octo-Cat and Pringle followed along.

Pringle no longer had his Nerf gun, so that at least offered a small measure of relief.“I’m telling you,” he said in a raspy whisper. “We should be able to get at least $100 each, and with there being five kittens in all, that’s like a thousand dollars.”

Apparently Pringle’s math wasn’t as good as his reading. Given a choice, I’d have gladly flipped that the other way around.

“Go on,” Octo-Cat urged, dollar signs practically popping up in his eyes. “I’m listening.”

I crossed my arms and glared at the naughty animals.“That’s it! If I hear any more talk of selling the kittens, I’m demolishing your tree house.”

Pringle crossed his arms and glared right back at me.“Which one?”

“Both.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

“If I had Carla, you wouldn’t be so fast to make threats.”

“Is that so? Go on. Go get her then.”

When Pringle raced out of the bathroom, I slammed the door shut behind him. Locked it, too, for good measure.

“It never gets old watching you interact with them.” Charles chuckled as he twisted the knobs on the tub.

“Shut those off, please.”

“Why? I thought we were giving the kittens a bath.”

“Not like that we aren’t.”

I grabbed a pair of wash cloths from the linen closet, wet them both, and handed one to Charles.“They’ve had enough trauma for the day. Let’s do it this way.”

Once the little bit of water had drained from the tub, we placed the kittens inside and worked on wiping the blood and grime from each of them in turn.

“There.” Charles returned the last of the kittens to the floor with triumph. “All done.”

“Not quite,” I whispered. Unfortunately, my whisper wasn’t quite quiet enough.

“What do you meannot quite?” Octo-Cat, who had been watching with great interest from his perch on top of the toilet tank, questioned.

Realization flashed in his eyes a moment later. When it did, he pressed his ears back against his head and hissed.“I can wassssh mysssssself!”

“Grab him now!” I shouted to Charles.

And he made a good job of it despite the cat’s violent flailing.

“This will only take a second,” I promised.

“I’m not a baby,” he grumped. “I don’t need to be coddled by you.”

“Maybe so, but you’ve got blood on you, too. And we need to get it off.”

“I hate you,” Octo-Cat growled over and over until we’d finished.

If I hadn’t been every bit as miserable as him, I might have considered extending the impromptu bath just to punish him for his cruel words.

By the time Charles let him back onto the floor, he was covered in a flurry of little striped hairs that had resulted from Octo-Cat’s stress-shedding.

“That wasn’t so bad now. Was it, big guy?” Charles asked, attempting—and failing—to wipe some of it off.

“You better watch your back, UpChuck,” my cat moaned, knowing Charles couldn’t understand the threat. “Actually,don’t. It will make my revenge that much sweeter.”

I shot him a warning glance, then opened the door to let him run out.

WOMP!

No sooner had the door opened than something hit me square on the nose. And that something was one of Carla’s foam darts.

“Pringle!” I screamed in frustration.

Six distinct laughs rose in the bathroom—five from the kittens whose lives we’d just saved and the last of them from my sweet, loyal, loving boyfriend.

Maybe Octo-Cat was right.

Maybe he should watch his back.

Foam or not, those darts hurt, especially considering Pringle’s unforgiving aim. I needed to find a way to get that thing away from him once and for all… But first, kittens.

Chapter Six

I couldn’t get the Nerf gun away from the raccoon ranger, but I did manage to chase him outside and shut the pet door tight. Hopefully now there wouldn’t be any more surprises this morning.

When I returned to the bathroom, I found Charles sitting on the edge of the bath tub and holding a swaddled kitten in each arm. As much as I wasn’t ready yet for kids and marriage, the scene melted my heart into a pulsing puddle of goo.

He noticed me watching him and gave me a sweet smile—so sweet I forgave him for laughing at my unpleasant run-in with Pringle’s dart. “C’mon, grab some purritos, and let’s head some place more comfortable.”

Oh, this man definitely knew my love language.

“Let’s get them settled in Octo-Cat’s bedroom,” I suggested, knowing that there would be heck to pay but also knowing that it was our best option on such short notice.

Somehow, I managed to juggle three swaddled kitties as we crossed the short distance to Octo-Cat’s bedroom.